2012 Baked Bean Sandwich

With Labor Day weekend coming up, you may be planning a picnic. And perhaps you’re going to make some baked beans for that picnic. If you happen to have any baked beans left over, you may want to make some Baked Bean Sandwiches. I had no idea there even was such a thing as a Baked Bean Sandwich until several months ago, when I posted a recipe for Honey–Molasses Baked Beans. A reader commented on how much her husband like baked bean sandwiches, so I decided to find out a little more about them. Did you know that recipes for baked bean sandwiches go as far back as 1909? There was a cookbook called “Cooking For Two” by Janet Mckenzie Hill that had this recipe:

1909 BAKED BEAN SANDWICH: Butter two slices of Boston Brown Bread; on one of these dispose a heart leaf of lettuce holding one teaspoon of salad dressing; above the dressing set a generous tablespoon of cold, baked beans, then another lettuce leaf and dressing; finish with a second slice of bread, a tablespoon of beans, a floweret of cauliflower, and a teaspoon of dressing over the cauliflower.

These are some of the fancier versions of baked bean sandwiches I’ve come across. Most people make them simply by putting some baked beans (warm or cold) between two slices of bread, and many prefer white sandwich bread, like the Wonder Bread variety.

But I came up with another version…I guess you could call this the 2012 Baked Bean Sandwich. If you like baked beans, I’m sure you’ll like this!

4 Tablespoons bacon pieces from a jar (or cook up 4 slices of bacon and crumble)

softened butter for spreading on bread

lettuce leaves and tomato slices (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spread softened butter lightly on bottom and top halves of 4 hamburger buns, rolls, or bread slices. Top each half with a slice of cheese. On the 4 bottom halves, over the cheese, add 1/2 cup baked beans, 1 slice of onion, and 1 Tablespoon bacon pieces or crumbled bacon.

Place top and bottom halves or slices on a baking sheet and heat in oven at 300 degrees F for 5 minutes, or until cheese is slightly melted. Remove from oven.

Add lettuce leaves and tomato slices, if desired and place top half of sandwich over bottom half. Serve immediately and enjoy! NOTE: Eating this can get a little messy, so be sure to have some forks handy…you’ll probably start out eating these sandwiches with your hands, but you’ll need to finish them off with a fork since those beans tend to slide out of the sandwich! You could try mashing the beans a little so they’ll stay in the sandwich better.

Have you ever had a baked bean sandwich? What do you like to put on yours?

Baked bean sandwiches was something I grew up on–a concoction of my mother who always made leftovers interesting:-) I’ve never admitted it is a favorite of mine (along with Peanut Butter & Pickle) for fear I would be determined weird. Thank you for this wonderful post and recipe to take it to another level. I am okay…I am okay, XOXO